This is really interesting; it is incredibly late compared to many who got interviews in early/mid-November, but still a good sign. It’s possible that Yale thought your child was a low-priority candidate for an interview, meaning the majority of their minds were already made up (hopefully made up towards an acceptance).
Could you provide any vague info about your child, like strength in stats, any crazy ecs, international awards, community involvement, etc. can’t really speak on the LOR, but if they were particularly close to any teachers, that might be good to know. Good Luck!
My DD also got an interview notice on Dec 2. The interviewer said it was arranged around mid of nov. not sure why the interviewer received the request this late. The interviewer said the report deadline is Dec 10. AO will make decisions on Dec 12.
I’m curious what timing of an interview could mean? I got one exactly in the middle of November. I have two friends who go theirs earlier than me. We all live around the same area. Honestly, it probably means nothing most of the time, as certain alum association chapters will be much busier than others across the US and might take longer to get through the students. Right now, being so close to the 17th, it just feels so easy to read into anything as a negative sign! All I can do is hope!
Getting a late interview is generally a good sign. You are definitely in the running and the AO’s want an additional assessment. Doesn’t mean you are in. I have been asked to do virtual interviews late in the process (student lives well outside my region). Some have gotten in, others rejected or deferred.
I also concur with the observation that Yale admits a lot of well rounded students with overall very high achievements. Maybe it is a function of birds alike flocking together, but my S and his friend group generally had high GPA’s and test scores, and maybe had some state or regional awards/honors. The common thread was they were all “caring and nice/polite” kids whose interests were all very broad. I certainly had very good conversations with them across wide varieties of topics, sports, politics, pop culture, music, etc… You could tell that for them the pursuit of knowledge is a priority. Sure, some may have excelled in certain areas, but they were far from 1 dimensional.
I don’t think the timing of the interview really matters—what matters is whether you get an interview . My DD applied last year, and DD got REA interview offer very quickly. DD submitted dd’s application on Oct31, and the interview request came on Nov 5.
Later on, people were saying that if you get an interview request from a Yale senior in Dec, it’s supposedly a very positive sign. So my dd actually worried because dd was contacted searly. But in the end, dd was admitted, and the student ,the later interview was deferred then rejected.
After that, I searched for any connection between the timing of the interview email and admissions results, but there was nothing meaningful. I saw early interviews, mid-season interviews, and late interviews all leading to admits, rejects, and defers across the board.
So really, it’s the presence of an interview that matters—not who it’s with (an alum or a senior), and not whether it’s early, mid-season, or late. Getting an interview simply means your application is being meaningfully reviewed. Good luck!!
No one will ever know for sure, but what if it was as simple as an interviewer got really busy with work or life and was planning on getting to it asap, and then it fell down the priority list and then they woke up in a cold sweat at 2 a.m a few days ago and thought, “Oh s&@!, I forgot to do that interview!” Probably not, but the interviewers are human too!
Hi all! My son applied REA and received an interview in mid November. Last week, the AO reached out to his guidance counselor and a teacher that gave a recommendation to confirm some things… we don’t really have the details. Same thing happened to another student last year and he was accepted. Have others experienced this? Does it seem promising?
Any other legacies not get an interview? I thought as a legacy I’d at least get an interview, maybe it has to do with the alumni availability in Charlotte…?
What makes you think so? I’m so nervous I haven’t gotten an interview and I keep seeing people on Reddit saying Yale is contacting their LOR writers and counselors to verify info and it’s been complete radio silence on my end
“No doubter” either means a definite yes or no with no interview necessary. The old policy, not sure if it still is in play, is that all legacies get 2 reads automatically. That indicates to me that there was/is still an institutional proclivity to give legacy applicants every opportunity to sell themselves.
So do you think that getting no interview as a legacy is a good thing? I live in Charlotte NC if that gives you any context for alumni availability. For additional context I’m African American which I think makes me a URM and I have good stats/awards/ECs (good but nothing spectacular) and many qualified people said my essays and narrative were solid and a good fit for Yale. I just didn’t assume that I had the profile of an auto admit though but I’m not sure now especially after hearing that 91% of Yale students get interviews.
Sorry to hear about your situation, but don’t lose hope just yet. An alum posted on Reddit that there were fewer interviewers this year and he provided documentation. And I’ve seen posts about students getting deferred without an interview and this was recent and of course some get in without an interview. Could be more this year than last year. And I think as a legacy you have more reason to hope tHan folks like my son who is not hooked in any way and did not get an interview. He fell HARD for Yale and this will likely be his first experience with unrequited love. I am trying to prepare him for that by reminding him that Yale rejects 96% of her would-be lovers, and that he can cry and wallow and be morose and brooding for 24 hours after his likely rejection, but then it is time to move on. Can’t let her rejection cause him not to pursue others or not pursue them as best he can
